Emergency services are carrying out a large-scale plane crash training exercise at Manchester Airport today (Tuesday), based on a simulated aircraft incident involving multiple casualties.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the exercise involves a TUI aircraft positioned on one of the airport’s runways, with volunteers acting as casualties to help create a realistic emergency response scenario. The training is designed to test how airport teams and emergency services would respond to a major aviation incident.
Manchester Airport confirmed that the airport will continue operating during the exercise, but only one runway will be in use while the training takes place. Airport bosses have stressed that the exercise is not expected to cause disruption to flights, and passengers are being reassured that arrivals and departures should continue as normal.
The scenario forms part of routine safety and preparedness planning, allowing emergency services to practise coordination, communication and casualty handling in a controlled environment.
DM News Commentary
From a DM News point of view, this kind of training is vital. Airports the size of Manchester handle huge passenger numbers, and large-scale exercises like this are the only real way to ensure emergency services are properly prepared for worst-case scenarios.
Although airport officials have said there will be no delays, we’d still recommend travellers and anyone involved in airport drop-offs, collections or airport transfer work double-check their timings just in case. Even planned exercises can sometimes lead to short-term congestion or access delays around the airport.
It’s also worth noting that this isn’t a one-off. The exercise is scheduled to take place today (Tuesday 10th Feb 2026) and again on Thursday this week, so people travelling on either day should expect to see a significant emergency services presence around the airport.
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